I’m not a big fan of the cold, but I’d certainly suck it up for a trip to the Sundance Film Festival. Sadly 2012 isn’t my year, but my intense adversity to chilly temperatures at least makes me appreciate being able to watch from the warmth of my New York City apartment for now. On top of all the latest updates from Park City, this Movie News Cheats Sheet also has the lowdown on all the news circling the Hunger Games franchise as well as a play-by-play of the SOPA backlash. The casting realm has two shining stars this week, Liv Tyler who snagged the lead in Ti West’s The…

For a few weeks, there has been many different stories coming about about whether or not there will be a “Bridesmaids” sequel. The studio surely wants another sequel to make money, and Judd Apatow has given his two cents on it (which basically sounded like him saying “no” due to the fear of just making a film just for the money to be had) but not much has been coming out on what Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, the writers of the film, think about a sequel. According to CinemaBlend, Wiig, who also starred in the film, gave E! her opinion on making another movie, and it was rather point…

I guess this is really the first Movie News Cheat Sheet of the year. Sure, we ran one on January 1st, but considering that edition was packed with the top stories of 2011, this is your first taste of the best of the best in movie news for 2012. There’s a couple big casting updates to report from Joel Edgerton signing on to lead Kathryn Bigelow’s Osama bin Laden feature to Spike Lee losing another villain option for his remake of Oldboy. Then, of course, awards season nominations continue to come in and this time around, it’s the Writers Guild and Producers Guild pinpointing the finest films of last year….

“Bridesmaids” was the runaway comedy hit of 2011. It helped break the glass ceiling for other all-woman ensemble comedies that don’t feature any stupid rom-com gags. As such, Universal is ready to another “Bridesmaids” film, but will they do it without the main star, Kristen Wiig? According to Slash Film, Universal just might do that. Wiig and Annie Mumolo–who co-wrote the screenplay, have said that they aren’t interested in doing another “Bridesmaids,” however, the film’s producer, Judd Apatow, said in a statement “We don’t want to do it unless it can be great.” A source has said that Apatow won’t be interested in doing a sequel unless Mumolo and Wiig…

Title: Something Startling Happens: The 120 Story Beats Every Writer Needs To Know Author: Todd Klick Aspiring film writers and fans alike have always wondered what elements the most accomplished screenwriters include in their scripts to make their movies a success. Todd Klick, a screenwriter, producer and Vice President and Directory of Story Development for White Oak Films, has released a new book, ‘Something Startling Happens: The 120 Story Beats Every Writer Needs To Know,’ chronicling the most important characteristics all movie should include to become effective. The author became inspired to pen the Michael Weiss Productions paperback after breaking down the most critically and financially successful films of all…

Ava Sambora, the daughter of actress Heather Locklear and Bon Jovi rocker Richie Sambora, has landed her first big break! The thirteen year old has been cast in Judd Apatow’s latest movie venture entitled “This is Forty”. With modeling already on her resume, after promoting her famous father’s clothing line White Trash Beautiful, the young Sambora is ready to jump into the acting arena in the follow up to Judd’s 2007 flick” Knocked Up” as a character that is best friends with Sadie (a role filled by Apatow’s real life daughter Maud), the daughter of central stars Pete and Debbie. “This is Forty” is set to chronicle the lives of…

Annie Mumolo, who co-wrote the Judd Apatow-produced “Bridesmaids” with Kristen Wiig, will be given an acting role in Judd Apatow’s next feature film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Mumolo will be acting alongside Melissa McCarthy, who is the breakout star from “Bridesmaids.” Other actors making up the cast thus far include “Super 8″‘s Ryan Lee, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann (reprising their married couple roles from “Knocked Up”), Megan Fox and Albert Brooks. Robert Smigel has also been given an acting role in this untitled comedy. Smigel is a former “Saturday Night Live” writer and creator of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and “Saturday Night Live”‘s “TV Funhouse” cartoons, the…

‘Bridesmaids’ rising star Melissa McCarthy has been cast in the upcoming ‘Knocked Up’ spin-off, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The untitled comedy, which was at one point called ‘This is Forty,’ will reunite the actress with Judd Apatow, who produced the highest grossing female R comedy of all time. Apatow is writing and directing the spin-off to his hit 2007 romantic comedy. The spin-off will follow forty-somethings Pete and Debbie, played by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, respectively, as they raise their children. Debbie is the sister of Alison, the main female character in ‘Knocked Up,’ who was played by Katherine Heigl. There’s no word yet if Heigl or Seth…

Welcome back to the Movie News Cheat Sheet, Shockya.com readers! We’ve got a nice assortment of stories this time around, ranging from box office success stories to casting news and trailers. The casts of both The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D and G.I. Joe 2 grew by one while the bank accounts of both Bridesmaids and Transformers: Dark of the Moon grew by, well, millions. There’s also some talk about bringing the popular arcade game Space Invaders to the big screen and bringing the Korean film Oldboy back for more. While this Cheat Sheet is packed with some rousing updates, the pinnacle is the start of Shockya.com’s San Diego Comic Con…

Title: Zookeeper Director: Frank Coraci Starring: Kevin James, Rosario Dawson, Leslie Bibb, Ken Jeong, Donnie Wahlberg, Adam Sandler (voice), Sylvester Stallone (voice), Nick Nolte (voice), Cher (voice), Judd Apatow (voice) It’s been a while since a movie encompassing humans and animals interacting with each other hit theaters (insert sarcasm). This formula is as tiresome as 3D. And then there’s “Zookeeper” boasting that same animal shtick. Yet despite its flaws and cliches, the 100 minute flick acts as a mild relief to the monotonous products that have been packed into the fam-friendly genre as of late. Sure the concept blatantly rips off the entire arc of say a Night of the…